At work I had a supervisor who constantly called staff meetings and talked about how we all needed "to be on the same sheet of music." After a few of these, forgetting the kind of company I was in, I couldn't stop myself: I chimed in, "Yeah, in this bunch it's probably a score by Karlheinz Stockhausen." Dead silence. Uncomprehending stares. Crickets. Uh, never mind....
Does anyone have an opinion on the Beethoven symphonies recordings of Otmar Suitner and the Staatskapelle Berlin on Denon? I just got the original Japanese CD of Symphony No. 4 and was quite pleased with both the performance and the sound quality. So I ordered the Suitner Beethoven Symphonies 8 and 1 CD. Sampled the Eighth before ordering and it sounded quite good so I can't wait to get the CD!
Back when CD was a new format, Fanfare magazine used to give one of those away as a premium for new subscriptions. Considering the source, I'd assume it was at least a good performance and recording, or good by the standards of the limited catalogue available at the time.
There is such a box, with 28 CDs, that I can recommend warmly: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CUPQHT6. It's out of print, but a relatively inexpensive copy can be had from Amazon. uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0081LH31O.
The set arrived yesterday, and tonight I took a quick sample: the first mvt. of the Kreutzer Sta. Didn't have time for more, and this will be on the basis or a single side-by-side hearing of each, but compared to the Retrospective issue, the one in the box is warmer. The Retrospective, in fact, struck me as rather too bright, whereas the box issue was balanced more to the bass, although not too much so. I did not have the impression the box copy was in any way murky or overfiltered, but the piano, in particular, struck me as having more "body" as presented there. So I may well come down as preferring the box remastering. These, of course, are tentative impressions on a single listening, but I thought I'd go ahead and share them pending more careful listening over time.
Have been grabbing every Hamburg DG CD I could find on any shop - as an skeptic, I don't think that they sound any different than any other CD - but it's a nostalgia thing - I remember those CDs, far far away, behind the counter in case - they were expensive and could only see them from a far - it was a while before I could afford them - and by they were not widely available - mostly re-issues of the recordings... but now, is kind of fun Yes, got the Grieg Lyric Pieces and currently listening to
They won't ship to the US from Amazon.co.uk for this item. But amazon.ca will and the price there seems even better. They still have new copies available on that site. (Well, there is one less copy available now ) Thanks for bringing this box set to my attention.
Now enjoying one of my favorite pianists. He didn't record much, but they are all gems. This one is no exception.
Managed to get a copy of this 2CD-set for a much lower price than is usually asked these days. The set was withdrawn by DG soon after its release; anybody know why? According to some Zimerman wasn't satisfied with it and asked DG to withdraw it.
Haven't listened to it yet, just got it. Zimerman did record the Brahms Piano Concertos twice, first with Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic and later with Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic.
Finishing off my traversal of the Beethoven Violin Sonatas with these two wonderful musicians. They prove there is much beauty to be found in the composer's music and that Beethoven isn't all muscle.
I've listened to the whole set once now and, well, to be honest I'm not sure Zimerman has much affinity with solo Brahms; the fact that he never recorded any solo piano Brahms again may prove that. It's certainly not bad and technically it's excellent, but somehow the performances don't sound quite "right" to me - whatever that is... To my ears he seems to be trying too hard. That said, I'm glad I managed to get a copy of the set
I was lucky enough to find a copy of this used 2CD set on amazon a few years back. It's one of my most treasured classical purchases:
I can understand why! Moravec's interpretive touch has always been spot-on in my book. When I was buying records heavily in the '70s-'80s and came across a Moravec album, it was an automatic purchase for me... and I've never been disappointed. I'm sure your 2-CD album is fabulous -- maybe something I should look for!
